How to transfer WhatsApp messages from Android to iPhone

If you recently switched from an Android-based phone to an iPhone, you may want to transfer your messages from Whatsapp. But because both systems are completely different, transferring chats is not as simple as copy-pasting the files from one phone to the other. Luckily, there’s an easy solution.

What You’ll Need

You’ll need to prepare a few things first:

Download and install the newest version of iTunes on your Mac or Windows PC.

Install the latest Windows drivers on your Android phone. They typically get installed automatically when you connect your smartphone to your PC.

It’s highly advisable that your Android phone is rooted. If your phone is not rooted, have a look at our Android root guide.

Step 1: Download and Install the Backuptrans WhatsApp Transfer Tool

Download the WhatsApp to iPhone Transfer link software. It’s free and requires either a Windows or Mac computer. The installation shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes. When the installation finishes don’t run the programme just yet.

Step 2: Backup All the WhatsApp Messages on Your Android Phone

To do this, simply open your WhatsApp application, go to the Settings menu, click on ‘Chat Settings’, and then tap the ‘Backup Chats’ option. This will create backups of your chats on your SD card.

Step 3: Enable USB Debugging on Your Android Phone

Go to Settings on your Android phone and enter the Developer Options section. Make sure the box next to USB Debugging is checked.

Step 4: Connect Your Android phone to Your PC or Mac

Use the USB cable to connect your smartphone to your computer and run the Backuptrans Android WhatsApp to iPhone Transfer tool you downloaded in Step 1. Make sure you don’t connect your iPhone just yet. When you start the tool, it will automatically install Backuptrans WA Sync on your phone. If your phone is rooted, you may be asked to authorise this step, which you should accept.

Now that your phone’s drivers are correctly installed on your computer, the software will automatically detect the phone and your WhatsApp messages will be automatically loaded into the software. If this does not happen, you must root your Android phone and start again.

Step 5: Backup Your Chats Using the Software

To backup your WhatsApp messages, click the backup icon in the top-left corner. You can leave the database name unchanged and click confirm. The chats are now backed up on your computer. Note: The trial version of this software allows you to transfer up to 20 messages.

Step 6: Final Step – Transferring the chats to iPhone

Connect your iPhone to your PC or Mac. If iTunes is properly installed, your iPhone should be detected automatically. You can choose to send the whole database at once or you can manually select which chats you want to transfer. To transfer the whole database, simply right click on it and choose Transfer messages from database to iPhone.

If you know of a better way to transfer WhatsApp chats between mobile operating systems, leave a comment below.